Echo of Laughter
by Evergreendusk
Summary: *Spoiler warning for The Burning Tide.* Nothing ever ends well...


_**Hey, it's me, the totally irrelevant girl on SAFF that you totally review a lot. (No, I'm not asking for reviews…) Yes, I sort of am. (Shameless.)  
Anyway, since y'all probably know what happened in The Burning Tide and y'all probably cried your eyes out that month, I thought; why not let you cry your eyes out even more? Just cuz I ship this.  
Honestly, this was one of my favorite scenes from The Burning Tide because it was one of the most Shaneke scenes, aside from that time Shane jumped over Abeke to save her from a falling rock. So, in honor of Shaneke, here's the one-shot I'd like to call: Echo of Laughter. (Takes place right after TBT.)**_

Faults weren't something Abeke liked to talk about these days.

When Uraza had been stolen from her, Abeke had thought she'd do anything, sacrifice _anyone_ just to see her spirit animal's face again. But she had been dearly wrong.

Six months ago, a long six months ago, there was this one day she had marked on her mental calendar with a knife. She wanted to destroy time, to at least have a get another chance to tell him she truly _did_ forgive him, that she truly wanted him back in her life, that she truly would do anything to see his face one last time.

 _I'll meet you in another world,_ she thought, _and this time everything will be perfect, everything will be waiting for us, and nothing will fall._

 _And nothing will fall…_

 _Nothing…_

She had not wanted to show her face at the funeral, afraid people would point fingers at her, saying, _she's the one who killed him._

She was afraid of tearing up in front of the Redcloaks, whom had all healed from their disfiguration. She wanted to hide in the crowds of this celebration of life.

Abeke reminded herself it wasn't only _his_ funeral, but those many Redcloaks that had died saving the world.

 _Born a villain, died a hero._

X~x~X

Abeke sat on the dirt next to his grave. She had expected around fifty Redcloaks, but there were only three others.

"They didn't feel the need to come," Stead, whom everyone just called Alix, said. He emphasized the word _need_.

Karmo sat next to Alix, face in his hands, as if he didn't look up, he wouldn't be dead. "Devin said he wouldn't go because of, you know, issues with Conor and such." His voice cracked as he told them, quiet and sad.

Howl, whom everyone called Cadmus, bowed his head, while pacing around the tombstone. "He died for a reason."

"You didn't need to _say_ that," Alix remarked. "We all know who the reason is." Alix glared at Abeke, Abeke's arm in particular, where Uraza's tattoo rested.

"I'm sorry, okay, but it wasn't my fault." Abeke looked at each one of them in turn. "Can we just drop it?"

"If you just _forgave_ him when you looked him in the face at the Evertree, he wouldn't have tried to basically make an unneeded human sacrifice of him."

"If _you_ had-"

"Alix, Abeke," Cadmus half-shouted. "Calm down. This is a funeral, not a debate. Shane's death was the Wyrm's fault, and let's just put it at that."

Abeke lowered her head in agreement.

Karmo, who none of them were watching for a while, whispered hoarsely, "I'm sorry."

Heads turned.

"I'm sorry that you never got to prove yourself."

"I'm sorry that you were born that way," someone else continued.

"I'm sorry about the people you had to deal with," another person continued.

Without thinking, Abeke opened her mouth to speak. "I'm sorry that I never told you before."

All head turned to her this time, filled with sympathy and sorrow and forgiveness and silence.

"I'm so sorry that I never told you what you meant to me, how much you hurt me while betraying me, how much I laughed with you, because laugh, laugh, laugh was all we did, until you realized it was too late for me to chance my aspects, my opinion that with you, everything was okay. But it wasn't. I let you betray me, and I blamed myself for it, but you blamed yourself, and you made me change my opinion of fault. I _hated_ you," Abeke said, almost laughing. "I hated you so much for all you've done; I just wanted to let Uraza make you bleed to death. I hated you, until it was too late when I realized it wasn't hate, and it wasn't what I actually wanted. I just wanted to see your face once more." Abeke looked up to the sky, trying her best to smile. It was a sad smile, but that was alright. "Shane, I forgive you, and I wish you were here to listen."

She heard an echo of laughter in the wind; a silent symbol that he was indeed listening to all she told him.

 _I'll meet you in another world._

 _Everything will be perfect…_

 _Everything will be waiting for us…_

 _And nothing will fall…_

 _Nothing…_

 _I promise._

 _ **So how was the torture session? I'll admit, I almost cried will writing that.**_

 _ **~Alice.**_


End file.
